'Internet addiction' linked to depression, says study

[demoleft]

"There is a strong link between heavy internet use and depression, UK psychologists have said.

The study, reported in the journal Psychopathology, found 1.2% of people surveyed were "internet addicts", and many of these were depressed.

The Leeds University team stressed they could not say one necessarily caused the other, and that most internet users did not suffer mental health problems.
...
The authors found that a small number of users had developed a compulsive internet habit, replacing real life social interaction with online chat rooms and social networking sites."

bbc, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8493149.stm


so: "they could not say one necessarily caused the other"; a "small numer of users had developed a compulsive internet habit".
and the small number of people depressed using internet is flooded by the large number of people depressed who are not addicted to it.

so is depression causing internet addiction as an "escape" from "real" - or is the contrary?

[Blue-Jay]

1. This article makes me sad.

[ixion]

2. yeah, well, "real life" social interaction ain't all it's cracked up to be

just sayin'...

[Fumesucker]

3. "Real live" social interaction tends toward talking about the latest American Idol

Or Desperate Housewives or football or baseball..

For actual conversation about non trivial subjects I've found that I have to go online almost exclusively, there's exactly one person I know IRL with whom I can discuss anything serious.

[Javaman]

4. Real life is for suckers.

now excuse me while I drown my sorrows in a little net surfing.

[Mari333]

5. gosh I can be on the internet or go to the dollar store

which one is more depressing...

[MindPilot]

6. Next they will be telling us that posting on political forums

causes incivility

[MilesColtrane]

7. I can quit anytime I want.

"jusst...one...mooore....clickk.."

[Jim Warren]

8. Yeah and another damn thing.........

..........ah hell, forget about it, won't make any difference.